“Should I call Kangin hyung?”
On the 26th, at the Songra Club House in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, an untimely name dispute took place. Pohang’s ‘highest scorer’ Go Yeong-jun was in trouble over how to call Lee Kang-in (Mallorca). The two are the same age, born in 2001, but because of Lee Kang-in’s ‘quick birthday (February)’, it has not been clearly ‘sorted’ yet. Koh Young-joon laughed, saying, “I met him once last year in the under-23 national team, but I didn’t have a close relationship with him, so I never called him separately at that time.”
The reason why Ko Young-jun doesn’t care about the title of ‘hyung’ is not simply because of Lee Kang-in’s early birthday. He said, “If you are good at soccer, I think you are my older brother.” He then looked up at him saying, “I often look for Lee Kang-in’s game videos and learn a lot,” and “a great motivator.”
This flexible attitude of Koh Young-jun was the foundation for his growth. He explained, “I am a fan of Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga,” but “I learned the unique dribbling while watching Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)’s Chelsea days in the English Premier League.” Based on these efforts, he has broken his own record every year with △2 points and 1 assist in 2020 △3 points and 1 assist in 2021 △6 points and 4 assists in 2022.
This season, another ‘career high’ season is foreshadowed. After the opening, Ko Young-jun scored 4 goals in 9 games, establishing himself as a clear central player for Pohang. In particular, on the 22nd, he scored multiple goals (2 goals) in the ‘East Coast Derby’ against ‘defending champion’ Ulsan, showing his growth. Nevertheless, he recalled the game at the time, saying, “(The game ended in a 2-2 draw) is very regrettable even thinking about it again.” 안전놀이터
The match against Incheon United, which will be held on the 30th, is making Ko Young-Jun even more inflamed. Incheon has Shin Jin-ho, who played for Pohang until last year. In particular, as Pohang coach Kim Ki-dong expressed his regret several times over Shin Jin-ho’s transfer to Incheon, the confrontation between the two teams is drawing more attention from soccer fans. Ko Young-joon emphasized, “I personally really like the older brother, and I will directly show how much I have grown in the next game.” “I really want to win.”
He is also looking at bigger places. The Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, China in September this year. Koh Young-jun said, “(My team) hyungs joke that I will never win a gold medal, but I have achieved almost everything I have thought and said so far. I believe that I will achieve my goal this time too.”
To do so, you must board the Hwangseonhong. This Asian Games is a tournament where all the runner-up players of the 2019 Poland U-20 World Cup, including Lee Kang-in, Eom Won-sang (Ulsan), and Ko Jae-hyeon (Daegu), can participate, and competition for the final entry is expected to be fiercer than ever. . Koh Young-jun said, “(Eom Won-sang, etc.) I think it’s right for the older brothers born in 1999 to be the main pillars,” but emphasized, “But it’s not like I can’t compete because I’m two years younger, so I want to do my best to get on the national team.”
Lastly, he said, “The Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics are an opportunity to show me to the world,” and expressed his aspirations, saying, “I want to go to the European stage and become a bigger player.”